The Wood Hunter
by reminiscent-afterthought
Summary: If the Sakurazukamori was to ever come to me with that wish, there is no price he can pay to make it a reality. If it were anyone else, all it would take is that one life and one Sakura tree…'
1. Part 1

**A/N:** This somewhat stems on from some of my ideas about the continuation of the manga. Not IC with any other story right now though, so although a lot of things are left up in the air, it _is_ a stand-alone fic.

And for the length, I hesitate to call them "chapters". Will be updated weekly till completion; it's not that long.

* * *

_**The Wood Hunter**_

_Part 1_

'Yuuko-san?' Watanuki blinked at the ageless woman, arms laden with bedsheets. 'It's late; shouldn't you be getting to bed?'

The Dimensional Witch blew out another puff of smoke, staring into the night sky from her patio. 'I'm expecting someone,' she said, before reaching blindly for an empty bottle. Shaking it and finding nothing inside, she held it up to the high-school student. 'More sake.'

'Drinking so much is bad for your health,' Watanuki scolded, taking the bottle anyway. 'But you're never going to listen to me, are you?'

'Probably not.'

The black-haired boy simply sighed and headed back to the kitchen. 'And you'll be wanting more snacks too,' he mumbled, pausing at the door and noting the empty plate. 'And your guest –'

'Oh, he's not a guest,' Yuuko said airily, puffing out another ring of smoke. 'He's a customer…and let me assure you Watanuki, he's not someone you want the pleasure of meeting.'

Blue eyes blinked. 'Why?'

She turned to him with a smile. 'Care to find out?'

Yuuko really looked scary when she did that.

'Umm, no thanks,' the student mumbled, quickly seizing the empty tray and fleeing, almost tripping on the back step in the progress.

Yuuko watched him leave, before putting down her pipe and speaking to the shadows. 'He won't be back for awhile.'

The visitor stepped out of the darkness. Yuuko's smile became a little more genuine at the sight, even if the inner mask maintained its stoic appearance. 'It's been awhile, Sumeragi Subaru…or perhaps I should call you by your new title, Sakurazukamori.'

When the twenty-five year old remained silent, she tilted her head to peer at him more closely. 'I trust the Tree is well fed.'

'Yes,' came the monosyllabic and monotonous reply.

'You do not seem pleased,' she noted, before lifting the pipe to her lips once more. 'I cannot grant your wish.'

His eyes, one brown and the other blue, widened in surprise.

'You cannot offer the price for it,' the Dimensional Witch explained. 'Killing the Tree is no easy task; as the Sakurazukamori, you must know that Sakura trees, beyond its intricacies, are like any other trees. Their roots run deep into the earth. Their flowers spore and release new seeds that then grow into new trees.'

The mismatched eyes darkened in shade, but not in anger. 'It cannot be done?' Subaru asked, voice heavy.

'I did not say that.' Yuuko took another puff. 'I simply said you cannot offer the price. No Sakurazukamori can.'

There was silence for a moment, before the guardian of the Sakura spoke again. 'What price is that?'

Yuuko regarded him. 'I'm afraid I cannot tell you that.' She closed her eyes, before extending the arm that held the pipe. 'Would you like some?'

'I have no need for it,' the Sakurazukamori replied, voice heavy in emotionlessness.

The ageless woman smiled faintly at that. 'No,' she agreed. 'You have more power now than you wish and very few wishes at that to put it to.' She looks to the sky, then returns to the assassin before her. 'You had best leave,' she cautioned. 'Before my dear apprentice returns and notices the blood.'

'It is not the blood that worries you,' Subaru responded, but did as she asked.

'No,' Yuuko replied to the empty air and the faint smell of Sakura blossoms. 'It is your crying soul.' She closed her eyes. 'Even with this power, there are simply some wishes I cannot grant. As for others –' She looked up to the sky as Watanuki slid open the door once more. ' –they need to be requested by the right person.'

'Huh?' Watanuki blinked at her, tray and sake bottle in hand.

She grinned at him and took the bottle, before grimacing at the bitter taste that rolled down your tongue.

Watanuki looked unrepentant. 'You don't want to wake up with a headache in the morning,' he scolded, leaving again. 'And on that note, I'm going to bed.'

'My my,' she said quietly, but loud enough to be head. 'What kept you awake?'

'Mokona,' the boy scolded, and Yuuko laughed again. This wish, at least, she would see fulfilled.

And for the young onmyouji's sake, she hoped the right person would visit soon.


	2. Part 2

**A/N:** And Kamui appears this chappie. Yay. :)

* * *

_**The Wood Hunter**_

_Part 2_

They had, for the most part, given up looking for Subaru. The network failed to gain a lock on his location. Countless hours of wandering aimless about the dark streets of Tokyo produced no results. A visit to the onmyouji's apartment complex proved simply that the quarters had been abandoned weeks before – before his temporary enrolment as a college student in fact.

It made him wonder if the older man had somehow anticipated such a thing would happen. He disregarded the thought soon-after though, although not without a hint of pain. Sumeragi Subaru had gone into the war to determine the fate of the world with only one wish, and that had been to die at the hand of Sakurazuka Seishirou.

Kamui doubted he had ever anticipated a different conclusion to their battle. But that still didn't answer the question of his location.

Walking into that room and seeing the curtains fluttering in an open breeze had been heart-stopping. He'd gasped…or as Sorata claimed, "screamed" – and the other Seals had come rushing in. Yuzihara shrieked at the open window; no doubt in that moment, they had all been thinking the same thing.

But there was no body. No blood. Nothing to suggest Subaru had not simply jumped out of the window and gone on his merry way. But _where?_

They'd even, as a last resort of sorts, rang the twelfth Sumeragi head in Kyoto, but she had sadly informed them that the thirteenth had surrendered his post and preparations were being made for a new successor. When asked the last time she'd seen the twenty-five year old, she had admitted to it being more than a year prior.

So the bottom line was the young Sumeragi had vanished into thin air. But that still didn't stop Yuzihara from keenly scanning every sweetshop she entered (even though Subaru never showed much interest in sweets – or food in general). That didn't stop Arashi from fire-gazing every time things settled down. That didn't stop Sorata picking out thin pale men in crowds (even though the Sumeragi was known for being a social recluse). That didn't stop Aoki keeping his ears sharp in the editor's office, or Karen her own workplace. And that certainly did not stop Kamui from wandering the streets and parks in the hopes of stumbling across his friend.

Which was why he almost bypassed the Sakura tree standing in Ueno park before his mind registered the pink petals, gleaming unnaturally in the moonlight. The pale shadow underneath, rising from the ground as something fluttered around –

Unconsciously, he came closer, and the figure turned. Mismatched eyes met his own: one blue like the ocean and the other an earth-brown. Both eyes he'd seen before, but not on the same person. He knew though the Sakurazukamori was dead; he'd seen Karen burn the body himself. Out of respect; Subaru must have still seen something in the man to feel for him, and as time progressed it seemed the Angels weren't necessarily "bad" people. After all, unlike him, they had no choice in their destiny. And he knew how Fuuma used to be. He couldn't accept the idea that they were "evil".

After all, they'd all wound up slaves to fate.

But those _eyes_…

His amber gaze locked in on them, not noting the reddish tint of the Sakura petals as they rose, nor the darkening of the eyes as the moon slid slightly further into the night's shadow. The voice was tentative, doubtful even, as it escaped his lips –

'Subaru..?'

– because the ethereal figure beneath the tree, caught in an image of perturbed beauty, looked like only half the man he knew…or maybe less.

He blinked, rubbed his eyes and straightened from his suddenly slumped form; and then it was only the Sakura tree with its pink petals gleaming like unshed tears. Or blood, he amended, watching the veins of pink crawl up the pale blossoms. He left soon-after, wondering if it had been fatigue playing with his mind.

The scent of Sakura followed him home, mixed with a slightly more bitter tang.


	3. Part 3

**A/N:** This was a tough one to write for some reason.

And sorry, forget to mention I'm mostly diverging from the anime with this fic. Subaru's eyes are blue in the X-1999 anime (although I'm sure they're green in the Tokyo Babylon OVAs – go figure). Although I've filled in blanks with the manga and confused everyone...it's the anime's fault for randomly changing eye colours! I hadn't read the manga when I started though.

Thanks for following so far. Hope you continue to enjoy. :)

* * *

_**The Wood Hunter**_

_Part 3_

There were times which suggested that fate, if nothing else, prided itself in being cruel. His own words, those he'd used to coax the Kamui of the Dragons of Heaven from Within, rang false in his own ears. His hand had plunged into the chest of the only man he would ever love – his hands were permanently covered with that blood, and with his new eye, new title, they continued to be recoated with newer blood. Less deserving, more innocent…

The last victim of the Sakura tree had been a child. A mere _child_. Parents waiting at home, wondering why she hadn't walked through their door with her cute smile and bouncing backpack. Protecting the inhabitants of Japan from the shadows – what a joke. Every person was dangerous in their own way, doing little things that could accumulate with times, things that would eventually destroy the world and their own souls.

But he didn't care about _those_ people. Let them pollute the world as they chose; others took care of that. The Seven Angels, fighting to revolutionaries the earth, to purify it from that taint. The Seven Seals, fighting to maintain the world and stop it from sliding into oblivion, choosing to put their faith in the very species that was responsible for its defilement. The people he cared about – or perhaps "cared" was an inaccurate word in retrospect – where those like he had once been: kind, selfless…and above all, naïve.

People who would probably end up like him as well, their one true wish unfulfilled as they sacrifice everything, even their souls, in pursuit. To be left with nothing to sacrifice for an ultimum, for another chance – or even something to save what little remained of his soul. So worthless, that not even the Witch of the Dimensions who he had met as a child long ago, could take from him a price to end the curse he carried.

But the truth was that covering his hands in blood – or conversely _not _doing so, was of no consequence anymore. As abhorrent as the idea was, it a relatively easy action to execute. The knowledge that he was saving a child from a fate worse than death was enough to resonate in the hollowness of his own heart. It made no difference in the end; he suffered no more or no less. The first person he had killed was a long time ago: himself. And then Hokuto-chan. And Seishirou-san. And names that followed, inconsequential names…he could even add his grandmother to the list, but she lived still, her magical talent crippling her to old age even while the young rippled out of her life. To her, he was gone. Dead perhaps, forgotten – certainly resigned. He wondered how much he had understood from her farewell. A fourteenth head had no doubt taken his place thereafter, and so Sumeragi Subaru, the thirteenth head of the Sumeragi Clan and the Dragon of Heaven, was officially dead.

A small part of him wondered when he would truly die. For he was no longer alive; he had lost all hope of his only wish, and not even the most inconsequential of things could be achieved without something of value to give in return. He had nothing. He _was_ nothing, nothing at all save the shadow who came out at night to protect the inhabitants of the world.

A shadow called "Death".

And so he killed those people. Fulfilling an old wish, a dim sense of desperate longing, that someone had seen his pitiful destiny and taken mercy on it, cutting it at the stem so he could die while still knowing happiness…

At least there would be one less person to suffer. Something egotistical, selfish…but that was all they were in the end. He could not die; he could not wish for death with hands that killed, an eye that covered. The "blinding" eye, he had once called it: Seishirou-san's eye. Now it was an eye that hid the man, the _boy_, once called Sumeragi Subaru. Who masked him.

After all, illusionary ability came with being the Sakurazukamori. A web of untruths, lies and deceits: a white veil that covered the truth no-one cared to dig up from the tainted burrows. Things he denied even to himself. Things he locked up within his heart.

That was why it had been such a shock to suddenly see Kamui. For a moment, the boy had paused mere inches from the Sakura, and it looked – a reciprocal of a past long since crushed to little shards. Another person who reminded him of his old naïve self. But this was _the_ "Kamui", the one who had gone through the pain of losing one loved one to another, who'd floundered in the dark without happiness, without a Wish –

Why wasn't he floundering now? Not Kamui…but himself. Without a wish, without a hope for happiness…

_'There's no way for everyone to be happy…'_

Not even Kamui…

He still wasn't entirely sure why he did what he did. Sure, he cared for the young esper…as much as he cared for the other Seals…or perhaps a little more. A kindred soul. Someone who'd been lain bare to him – when he'd gone Within.

Someone…who had already gone too far to be saved from the entirety of their fate. But little things…

They came back to him, in that moment. The memories. Him reaching out to caress the other's cheek. Him holding his hand. He returning the favour. The soft words to coax him to bed. The mind-boggling mathematics he read through to help the other with his homework when Kishu-chan was more than able to do so herself (even if Arisgawa-kun was hopeless)…little things he didn't _have_ to do, even if he had gone Within Kamui and had become somewhat of a support.

Maybe it was a childish desire to protect Kamui. Or maybe it was a wish of sorts…and he payed the price of a slightly heavier heart as he abandoned the Sakura and the key to the worlds with a bloodied hand.


	4. Part 4

**A/N: **Thank you to everyone who's reviewed so far. I'd review reply but my PM feature is really acting up so I can't seem to manage them all.

BTW, contextual note. This is before Tokyo gets completely evacuated, ie. between Subaru's disappearance and the chapter that follows in the manga. For simplicity's sake, say I attached the manga to the end of episode 16: Slaughter (ie. the episode where Seishirou dies)…which I did to be honest. But this isn't compatible with the followup manga either, so *shrugs*...maybe I should call it a divergent fic. Yep, that works.

Enjoy.

* * *

_**The Wood Hunter**_

_Part 4_

Karen and Aoki had stopped by for a visit to…"check up on the children" as the Fire Mistress had put it. However, very little "checking up" transpired in the two hours they spent at the mansion. The first stop had been the kitchen and Sorata preparing lunch, and that had prompted the married man to throw on the extra apron and pitch in. Arashi had been passing at that time so the Monk from Mount Kouya had happily accepted the help. It had unfortunately backfired as the Priestess from Ise had ignored the teen and marched into the living room.

Luckily, Kamui had been struggling with his math homework at the time, elsewise Karen would have sent the young girl straight back. As it was, the Soapgirl sucked in Yuzihara for some "girl-talk" until the Chairman arrived or one of the other Seals became free. Not that she minded; in fact, Yuzihara and Karen had quite a nice chat.

By the time everyone was finished with their paired tasks, Nokoru had arrived.

'Any sign of Subaru?' Kamui asked, immediately after the blond had finished giving them a rundown on current earthquake activity.

The man shook his head, and that was enough to dampen the esper's spirits for the afternoon. What was worse was the newspaper left behind.

Normally, Kamui didn't bother with newspapers. Or the broadcasts on television. He knew full well the problems going on in the world: the earthquakes, the floods beginning as the world crumbled away. The countless deaths – not to mention the people still missing and unaccounted for. Rainbow Bridge was perhaps the best of them; it had been mercifully deserted when the Dragon of Earth had gone head to head with the Dragon of Heaven. In essence, the loss of that kekkai was tied to only a single casualty. Directly in any case; it was after the fall of that particular kekkai that water had begun seeping into the land.

He wouldn't have bothered with the newspaper that day either. It was just that something had been circled with a red pen for attention. He couldn't help but wonder why it was lying so conspicuously on the dining table on a Sunday afternoon. If it was Aoki's or Nokoru's, why hadn't they taken it with them? Somehow, he couldn't imagine Karen reading a newspaper, and he knew none of the four who currently lived in the mansion bothered with the article. Yuzihara preferred magazines. Sorata had a habit of putting the radio on full-blast when he cooked without company…and when he was in the mood. And Arashi never showed an interest in it. Perhaps she felt the same way as him.

After all, the Seals didn't need another reminder of the failure to protect Tokyo's kekkai. The only thing they currently had going was that the others remained standing. Unfortunately, it seemed related to inaction on the part of the Dragons of Earth than their own actions.

And Hinoto still hadn't foreseen them…not that he was sure he trusted her. Something was bugging him…

But at that moment, his attention was swallowed up by the red bubble.

It was a small article, barely noteworthy if it hadn't been for one minor detail. Or two rather; so many people were dying by the Earth's hand that a sudden murder caused an uproar. A stabbing – a hand straight through the heart, the article said.

For a moment Kamui wondered if someone had fished out the Sakurazukamori's body…but then he read the next line.

Not the Sakurazukamori. The man who had caused Subaru to suffer so greatly. The victim…she was just a little girl. Her school had been on one side of the park where they'd found her drained body; her home lay on the other. Somewhere in between, she'd been attacked and killed: stabbed through the heart.

That bit was underlined. He didn't have to wonder long for why; only one person he knew killed by that method. One person he'd seen, in Subaru's memory when the onmyouji had attempted to rescue him from Within. Not even Fuuma; he had stabbed Kotori with the Shinken. He'd used psychic power to blast Subaru's kekkai down. He'd never resorted to such hand-to-hand combat, even when his own hand had plunged into the other's shoulder.

It was only ever the Sakurazukamori, the one Subaru called "Seishirou-san", who used such brutal methods. Or…perhaps he had no right to call them brutal. After hearing about how one of the Dragons of Earth had ripped Inuki apart with her cables, a clean stab like that didn't seem particularly bad in retrospect.

No, it wasn't the way that was so horrific. It was the psychological torment involved. The innocence destroyed. The things that related, connected, that weren't so direct but perhaps even _more_ important…

It was only ever the Sakurazukamori. But the Sakurazukamori was dead. Subaru had known; the spell on his hands had been dead when he'd revealed them. Dead…and fading slowly…

And the dead didn't come back to life.

'What'cha looking at?' Sorata suddenly appeared at the shoulder of the young esper, staring curiously at the newspaper. 'Oh…that murder.'

Kamui looked up, somewhat surprised. He hadn't heard the radio on. Of course, he may have been in his room at the time; he spent a good deal of time there after all.

'That poor kid.' The brunet shook his head. 'But really. You'd think people would be more aware of everything that's going on. Kids are still wandering off on their own…but no-one expected a murder like this, after the kekkais and the Dragons of – oh.' He forced a grin. 'This is making quite a cheery conversation, isn't it?'

He leaned closer when Kamui didn't reply.

'What are you thinking about, Kamui?'

'Sakurazukamori,' the younger boy replied honestly. 'I was thinking about Sakurazukamori.'

For some reason, a single golden eye glared at that moment, and he gasped.

'Kamui?'

He shook his head. _Where did that come from?_ 'Nothing,' he said aloud. 'It's nothing; I know Sakurazukamori is dead.'

'I wonder…' There was something funny in the normally boisterous teen.

'What is it Sorata?'

'Well, it's just that…' The monk looked a tad uncomfortable. 'You know "Sakurazukamori" is a title, right?'

Kamui blinked. He actually _hadn't_ known that.

'The old Stargazer told me once. Not even the Sumeragi clan know the full truth about them, and they govern all the onmyouji in Japan.'

'Except the Sakurazukamori then.'

'Yes…that,' Sorata amended. 'But…like the Head of the Sumeragi Clan, isn't it possible for the title to have passed on..?'

It was a frightening thought. If they were anything like the previous one…and the world had enough problems as it was. At least they couldn't be a Dragon of Earth…

'Subaru's not the Head anymore.'

Sorata looked at him. 'That's what makes it even more likely.'

The amber eye appeared to stare at him again. Kamui put a hand to his head.


	5. Part 5

**A/N: **Apparently the Metropolitan Government Building is also a kekkai but the Dragons of Earth live there so it's unlikely the Dragons of Heaven know (Hinoto might but we know what's going on with her.) There seem to be a lot more possible kekkai in the manga, but I'm sure there was only seven in the anime – one for each Seal. Wikipedia lists 13. So I think, at this stage, it's only the Yamanote line, Inokashira and Tokyo Tower. I'm not sure Ginza ever was a kekkai as far as the anime goes, even though Hinoto mentioned it as it was never attacked. I also think that Satsuki killed Inuki at the Shinjuku highrises kekkai, but once again, I'm not 100% sure.

BTW, this is before the mess at Yamanote. I think that was episode 19.

Why am I updating on Wednesdays instead of Tuesdays? At least it's extra long this time. And one more left…I think. It requires a little thinking. :)

* * *

_**The Wood Hunter**_

_Part 5_

Kamui halfheartedly wished the Dragons of Earth would attack one of the three remaining kekkai (well, more likely the Yamanote Line or Inokashira as Tokyo Tower was said the last to stand and fall). It was a horrible thought, and he dismissed it soonafter - before reconsidering that it may not be such a bad idea...if they could gain an edge over the Angels and protect their kekkai. Unfortunately, Hinoto had not been able to provide any particular help, having not seen the Dragons of Earth in her dreams since Saiki's death (and the growing suspicion festering in his gut didn't help matters to that regard). Neither had their scouts of Tokyo city; they'd been forced to reconsider after the Tokyo Bay incident but ultimately, spreading over Tokyo seemed to improve their chances to tracking down the Angels before they strike. It was better than being localised and far away...but they were getting outsmarted as several earthquakes (teasers, really) had occurred since, and they'd been unable to do a thing. Yuzihara had made the most success in that forte, having gone head to head at Shinjuku high-rises– but one could hardly call her loss a "success".

But it would be better, far better, than wandering around and accomplishing was essentially all they had managed. Running around the city, attempting to guess where the Angels would attack next and failing miserably. It didn't help that said Angels were leaving the remaining kekkais alone for the time being; the reasoning behind such an action was beyond all of them. Perhaps, Karen had decided eventually, it was the same reason as why they'd waited three months to attack after the "awakening".

Kamui's gut was irrationally disagreeing with that, but he still had no idea what was being planned. It also didn't help matters that his nightmares had twisted somewhat of late; that amber eye was beginning to become quite haunting. After a few days, it was clear enough to become associated with other things: a bitter taste, a faint flowering smell…

He was dashing through Inokashira towards its clearing when the scent of the Sakura trees lining the pond filled his nostrils.

Gold. That golden eye again.

He felt no kekkai go up, which was fortunate – he would have been caught between a rock and a hard place otherwise. As it was, the Sakura completely swallowed his scent before his vision kicked in…and he froze.

And gaped.

'Subaru?'

The man of twenty-five looked at him. One eye was blue, but dark and dim. The other was hidden in the hazy Sakura shadow, as was his body in the black he wore.

If Subaru was surprised to see him, he did not show it.

'The two Kamui…' he mused out loud. 'Reflections of one another, or the same power?'

'Huh?'

Subaru closed his eyes, form melting further into the shadows of the overhanging Sakura tree. 'Kamui…'

Kamui took a step forward. A branch clipped his shoulder.

'You shouldn't come any closer.' No emotion entered the tone; it was a simple stated fact, not a warning despite how the words alone could sound.

Silence stood. A stick pressed the shoes; Kamui made no move to shift it or adjust his weight. Subaru made no move either; he was not leaning against the tree persay, but still it managed to swallow up his being.

'I was worried,' the esper managed finally.

'You should worry about your own Wish,' Subaru responded, tone unfaltering. 'Don't worry about me.' He paused, before adding: 'I'm fine.'

'No you're not,' Kamui immediately countered. 'You left.'

'Yes.'

'Why?'

Another pause, in which the Sakura whispered gently.

'I had to find something.'

Kamui looked at the shadowed face, devoid of everything save the pallid skin that bound it together and the blood that kept it living. It only vaguely resembled the man he'd left in his room that night – the last he'd seen of him.

'Did you find it?' the teen asked, a little hesitantly.

'In a sense,' came the reply.

'What was it?' Growing trepidation.

'A reason.' This time, the answer was almost melancholic. 'Or a Wish.'

'A Wish?'

A pause, in which the Sakura whispered again.

'A reason to exist.' The reply was quiet; the wind could have carried it away did the blossoms not prevented its course.

'Subaru…'

Subaru turned. 'Kamui, why are you here?'

Amethyst eyes burned as he was wordlessly swept under the gaze of the amber eye. 'That-that-' he stuttered, coherency failing him for the briefest moments. 'Your eye-'

Which did answer the question, albeit in an indirect way.

Subaru lifted a hand to it. 'Seishirou-san's left eye.' And this time, there was something in his voice. Something that made the other's stomach churn and intestines curl. Something that made the man himself sound _alive_ when nothing else had.

The left eye…he, Kamui, knew the story behind that. How half a person's power passed on from it. The Sakurazukamori…

'You're…' He didn't finish the sentence; he couldn't, but his next question was worse. Far worse. 'You…'

'You came.' Subaru closed his eye – the gold one remained open, flickering oddly in the dark.

No. It wasn't flickering. The small tendrils of light were reflecting off it, as though the pupil was a mirror instead of a hole. A blank mirror.

'You were waiting for me?' Even months afterward, Kamui would not understand how he managed to get those words out of his mouth without a stutter. They simply_ tumbled_.

'No.' The amber eye closed too. Somehow, when the rays of light hit the branches, the glittering gold became several shades darker.

'You came…just like me, so long ago…' His tone stemmed back into nostalgia as he spoke, almost to himself, his voice a black dove singing softly on the breeze. 'The Sakura tree blooming out of season – I was attracted to that somehow. The pink…was beautiful. More beautiful than anything else, except maybe…' He left that sentence, but in all honesty it spoke for itself. 'I heard it screaming.'

Only the wind whistled in Kamui's ears.

'I tried to purify it, but it backlashed.'

The esper knew about backlashes; he had accumulated numerous headaches from his psychic powers before gaining a better grasp of them.

'And then I looked up and saw the rain, and you know what I said?'

It was like being caught by the campfire, enthralled in a horror tale one just knew would end badly, and yet the appeal was too great to simply abandon.

There was a dry laugh when no answer came. '"The rain…it's red?"'

'Huh?

'The rain,' Subaru repeated, tone unchanging. 'Red. It looked almost beautiful in a sense. On my hands…'

Another voice whispered then – Subaru still, but of the past.

'_I don't want to change…because it's his blood.'_

And the white coat, spotted with blood. The pale hands, nails lined with black – the Doctor had cleaned the blood off his hands, and his face, but it had appeared to be quite adamant to cling to the Sumeragi.

'I thought that maybe I was wrong. But I couldn't quite get to "hope". What I Wished for though…'

Kamui remembered. A whirlpool of emotion, of thought – but Subaru had always known how to direct the current when it came to him. Somehow…

Although his mind was reeling from the puzzle pieces that were clicking together.

'You wanted to die.'

'Yes.'

'You took the Sakurazukamori's eye.'

'Yes.'

'You…_killed_ that girl.'

'Yes.'

None of those replies were distinguishable from one another. And if it had been anyone other than Kamui, they would have done something other than stand and listen and add details.

Of course, there couldn't be very many people in the world as close to Subaru as Kamui had been. Maybe that was why the desire to understand, to do something, was so strong. Like Sorata and Yuzihara and Arashi, who he'd become close to over the past four or so months. Even Karen and Aoki, even if they still lived independently of the Mansion.

'W-why?'

'Because.' Subaru opened his blur eye and it glittered strangely in the shadows. 'I thought I couldn't – many did – but I can.'

There was something in that last word, but the subtlety hid itself well. Kamui, after a moment of precautious breathing, failed to discern it.

'The Subaru I knew couldn't kill anyone,' he managed finally.

'I am not the Subaru you knew,' was the reply.

Both noted the past tense used.

'So I saw you…' He recalled the memories the onmyouji had shown him. The rule of the Sakurazukamori, and those who witnessed their acts of murder…'Why am I still alive?'

'Because you are "Kamui". You could be the only person in the world who still has hope for a different future.'

And he let the illusion stand, and fall, vanishing from the park, the kekkai, Kamui...

He, the Sakurazukamori, wondered if that was the only reason, or he was simply lying to himself. He wondered till he lit a cigarette under the Sakura tree a minute later, inhaling the grey smoke and closing his eyes to a well-used sting. He wondered…if he cared enough for the answer. Or the blood that coated his hands.

Blood he had once abhorred, or thought he had. But they had coated his hands even before he had become the Head of the Sumeragi Clan.

It was no wonder he had no price to offer; the Tree, the title, the eye and the one thing they collectively became – they meant too much to him.

No. That wasn't correct. They defined him. They _were_ him.

It wasn't a wish. Or happiness. Perhaps it was duty, but he did not think so. It was simply a part of him, something that remained even as all care, all emotion seeped out. Somewhere along the road, he'd lost his soul as well as his heart.


	6. Part 6

**A/N: **All in all, poorly written in retrospect but it certainly helped the muddled ideas in my head become clearer. :)

But Yuuko's back. And her first "price" was from one of the CLAMP in Wonderland clips.

* * *

_**The Wood Hunter**_

_Part 6_

Inokashira Park suddenly felt several degrees colder, inviting goosebumps to dance under the pale skin and mocking the school assemble for its failure to protect from such chill. The blazer was black, offering no barrier to trap the heat fleeing his body; the shirt was white, but its weavings so thin the wind simply slipped through and threatened to ice him to the bone.

It would have been smarter to move – he had been on his way somewhere after all, but the matter was no longer pressing. The park was silent; not even a bird squawked in the air. Even the wind blew without sound; it had only whispered in Subaru's presence.

In the presence of the Sakurazukamori.

Somehow…somehow Subaru had reminded him of himself. When they'd first met Within, the kindred spirits…and before that, the lone boy wondering the roofs of Tokyo and the legendary Head of the Sumeragi – for the man's reputation by far proceeded him. Oh yes, he'd heard tales about the powerful young Onmyouji. Some from the mouth of the many birds that fluttered about; people who Subaru had met, had helped…and had left an imprint upon.

Was he…was he just another one of those people? Because the Subaru they had spoken of had been kind, so kind, to everyone. Indiscriminate. Even to those who did cruel unspeakable things, he could cry and become sad. Was that how it had been for him too? Even after he claimed to have changed, to lose sense of happiness and become driven by a single Wish..?

He didn't believe that. He _couldn't _believe that. Especially after seeing the older man so vulnerable; who could lie, even to themselves, in such a state? He didn't think anyone could.

He also didn't think that _Subaru_ of all people could become the Sakurazukamori: a murderer none knew the secrets of.

'Do you want to know?'

The speaker was female, and rather young. Karen's age perhaps, although the carmine eyes made her look far older.

'Who are you?' Kamui asked, without much vigour.

The woman smirked in amusement, although there was something else in her expression as well.

'Ichihara Yuuko,' she replied. 'An alias naturally.'

'An onmyouji?' He wasn't particularly interested though.

'Ah.' The woman clicked her tongue in a lighter amusement. 'Subaru-kun is quite careless with his own; I do hope he learns some caution eventually. But no; I'm a witch.' A pause. 'Aren't you going to ask of what kind?'

'Unless you can grant wishes,' Kamui said, without much care. 'It doesn't matter to me.'

'Well…' Yuuko drawled. 'It just so happens that I _am_ that kind of wish.'

The esper snorted; either this woman was a liar, a sham, or she was like Fuuma and his warped way of fulfilling them.

'I'm not any of those.' Now, she sounded a little stern. 'You should have heard of the Dimensional Witch.'

A blink, and then: 'Oh.' He _had_ heard of the Dimensional Witch. 'Aren't you a little…young?'

The infuriating smirk was back. 'Would you care to find out?' Her dress strap slipped, but whether it was because of the wind or her magic, the teen didn't know.

Nor did he care, simply turning his face. 'Whatever.'

'You don't have a wish you want fulfilled?' Yuuko asked, voice a tad teasing.

Kamui paused. 'Could you save Fuuma?'

'I could,' the witch nodded. 'But I don't think it's a price you quite want to pay.'

A small frown danced on the other's lips. He couldn't quite remember whether it was Sorata or Subaru who'd told him about the woman, but they'd mentioned her prices sometimes seemed…odd.

'What sort of price?' he asked anyway, and perhaps against his better judgement. The tone seemed nonchalant, but he could not deny it was, in truth, anything but.

'The world,' Yuuko replied, as if she had asked for a measly portion of a child's allowance.

Something must have shown on his face because she quickly added: 'I assure you I am not joking, Kamui of the Dragons of Heaven.'

And she knew his name as well. And title.

'Hn.' He bit his lip; he _would_ save Fuuma by himself if that was what it took. 'I'll do it by myself then.'

'I'm sure you will.' Her tone though suggested she was speaking to a young child set on an impossible course.

'I _will_,' he insisted, knowing full well he sounded extremely juvenile, before dropping the subject. 'What could you say about the Sakurazukamori.' The way he said it didn't particularly count as a question, nor did the amendment: 'And what price.'

'You catch on rather quickly,' Yuuko nodded. 'I must say, Subaru-kun never quite managed to wrap his head around the idea.' Before the statement sunk in, she pressed on. 'The price is rather straightforward in this case. You bear the burden of the knowledge you gain.'

Kamui thought for a moment, then nodded. Ignorance was far deadlier from experience after all.

'The Sakurazukamori is the yin of the Sumeragi head, so to speak. While it is the latter's duty to protect Japan's inhabitants from the light, it is that of the Sakurazukamori to protect them from the shadows.'

'Protect-?' _How was killing innocent children a protection?_

'A murderer always has to live with their crime,' the woman replied, and this time there was a hint of sadness in her tone. 'Whether that murder was intentional or not, and for whatever purpose. Once that blood is on a person's soul, it never fades.'

Her expression was perfectly serious now, gazing into Kamui's darkened eyes. 'As for the Sakura,' she continued. 'It is but a tree in the end, but one that has known the taste of blood. And like animals with instinct but lacking will, once it knows the taste of something sweet, it finds itself wanting more.'

'They drink blood instead of water?' Kamui honestly didn't know what to feel. Some of the numbness was fading from his mind, but the fog stubbornly persisted.

'Indeed.' A pale hand came up to brush a lock of long black hair away. 'After a fashion. But that warrant's a different price.'

They _were_ getting a little off topic anyway.

'How do you know Subaru.' There was a light suspicion in her tone.

Now she sounded amused. 'You make it sound like I captured the poor child in my web.'

It was distinctly odd hearing a man ten years his senior being called a child.

'He was always far too kind,' Yuuko sighed. 'I asked him to do a job for me, some ten years back, and offered him payment in return. He chose to give it to the one that was most precious to him.'

So before the mess with the Sakurazukamori…in a sense.

'You shouldn't be surprised at the power of subconscious wishes,' the Dimensional Wish said, looking significantly at him. 'What do you think brought me here?'

Kamui couldn't deny he was confused.

'You want them to be happy.'

'"There is no way everyone can be happy,"' Kamui replied, quoting Subaru's words a month or so ago.

'Because, to be happy, one must give an equal amount of unhappiness in return.' Yuuko turned her head slightly, to gesture at the dark Sakura tree. 'The Sakurazukamori becomes desensitised to emotion because blood corrodes the soul. Only the red string of fate remains, and the Sakurazukamori's title is passed on through its current.'

There was a brief silence. 'Why are you telling me this?' Kamui asked finally.

Yuuko regarded him. 'Don't you want to know the price for that wish?'

Another pause. Longer. More significant.

'Yes.'

A small breath; few would have picked it up from her. 'His life. And the Sakura tree.'

A frozen block of time. Eyes widened.

'The tree is valuable to Subaru-kun,' she elaborated. 'And the eye. The rest of him is valuable to you.'

'Why-why would-?' Kamui managed to stutter.

'The balance,' Yuuko replied. 'I can take them both; in a hundred years, he will reawaken. Sakurazuka Seishirou will reincarnate. Fate may be kinder then.'

'May?'

'Hence the Tree.' The woman shrugged. 'There are things that are not even in my jurisdiction. I can simply try to tweak the probability in Subaru-kun's favour – but there must always be a Sakurazukamori…because there are always those that need to be seized by the shadows, and always a Sakura who has known the taste of blood.'

Surprisingly, or perhaps not (as Kamui had somewhat of a one-track mind when it came to certain things), it took awhile for that to click. 'Hang on,' he said slowly. 'If that's true, then who becomes the-'

'Isn't that obvious?' Yuuko asked. 'And if you think about it, this will serve your purposes as well. Because a murderer always has to live with what they have done.'

'Fuuma…and Kotori…'

And the blood would take his soul. Destroy it, so he'd stop feeling, stop hurting…

To think, three people could made happy with a single wish. Maybe Subaru had been wrong after all.

'I already have blood on my hands,' Kamui said eventually. 'And I'm only going to wind up with more – I'm killing this world to save it after all.'

Yuuko regarded him, then nodded. The truth was, things wouldn't go exactly as he thought. Not with his Twin Gemini in any case, but he didn't need to know that.

After all, the title of the Sakurazukamori passed on through the red string of fate. And she could see who was connected to the fifteen year old's pinky finger. Granting the wish required a little extra meddling, but she could do it. She was only granting a wish after all.

Or several if one chose to look at it like that.


End file.
